


Lucky

by kitkat6020



Category: Blood and Chocolate - All Media Types, Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
Genre: Depression, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-03-17 06:37:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3519134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkat6020/pseuds/kitkat6020
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after the fire that killed her father and ripped apart her Pack, Vivian Gandillon is stuck, trapped by the weight of the past. Surrounded by packmates who are moving on with their lives, Vivian feels isolated and alone, but she's about to find solace from an unexpected source.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

 

_ Disclaimer _ _: I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of the book, “Blood and Chocolate,” by Annette Curtis Klause. I do, however, love her characters, and I hope she doesn’t mind me writing a story about them. Also, in order to make the relationships in this story legal, all of the characters have been aged up by three years._

* * *

 

 

 

He was there when Vivian came home from school. Tall and broad shouldered, he filled the room while sitting on the couch. Vivian closed the door behind her and knelt to take off her shoes, missing the invisibility of school. 

"Hey, Viv." The thunder of his voice rumbled across the large living room.

_Return the greeting_. "Gabriel." She stood and put her jacket in the closet before pulling up her backpack.

"How was school?"

_ Answer the question _ . "Fine."

On her way to the stairs, she made the mistake of looking over at him. Even lounging on the couch, at rest, he was a predator. If his physique hadn't given him away, his eyes would have. He stared at her, stared through her, and she felt his gaze down to her bones. 

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?"

_ Pull it together, Gandillon _ . "I assume it's about the meeting?" By eight o'clock, the living room would be filled with the snarling, broken remnants of the Pack, and in the absence of an Alpha Male, Gabriel and Uncle Rudy had begun sharing the leadership duties.

Gabriel nodded, never breaking eye contact. "Do you know when Rudy will be back?"

"His shift ends at 4:00, so he should be home soon."  _ Please just let me leave _ .

A moment passed, and he said nothing more, so Vivian started to climb the stairs up to her room, her bed and the sweet release of sleep.

"Viv, are you okay?"

His voice was warm, intimate and genuine, and Vivian paused.  _ Of course I'm not. How could I be okay? What's the point in asking that? _ She turned, risking another glance at him. His expression was partly concern, mostly unreadable.  _ How can he see right through me when I can't begin to understand him? It's not fair _ . She nodded, "Yeah. I'm just tired." 

He held her gaze a moment too long, face unmoving, working through her lie. "Going to take a nap?"

Cautious gratitude washed over her. "Yes."

His expression softened, "I'll tell Rudy you're sleeping."

"Thanks." Vivian made her way up the stairs, away from Gabriel's attention. Out of sight, her facade slipped away slowly. Her shoulders drooped as she walked to her bedroom, and the backpack slid out of her hands and onto her floor. She closed the door behind her, locking it, and began pulling off her clothes. Throwing on her worn pajamas, Vivian crawled into bed and clutched her pillow. The hollowness in her chest, the aching void at her center, throbbed, and Vivian pressed her face into the pillow and let loose the tears she'd been fighting since homeroom. 

Mr. Antony couldn't have known why she'd rushed out in the middle of morning announcements, but at least he didn't stop her. The trigger, a seemingly innocuous notice about the upcoming graduation ceremony, had set off thoughts of her future and all the life events her dad would never see, all of the memories they'd never share. Down the hall, in a bathroom stall, Vivian had fought it, fought hard, but here in her room she let go.

Eventually the tears slowed and exhaustion took hold. Vivian lay under the covers, half asleep, and wondered,  _ am I okay? No. No, I am not _ . She sighed and turned onto her side.  _ I am very, deeply not okay _ . Closing her eyes against the dying afternoon light, she curled up and let sleep claim her. 

 

 

* * *

 

Curled up in her armchair, Vivian numbly surveyed the stewing mass of loup-garou. There were so few of the old pack left now; new faces, strays probably, filled the spaces left by the dead and the deserters. Nothing about this felt real, it all blended into the waking nightmare of the past year. 

At the focus of the room, the fireplace, where her father should have been, Gabriel and Rudy stood in silent conference. Around them, the pack socialized, growing louder by the minute. Esme, Vivian's mother, sat to Vivian's right, muttering something about Astrid, the red-haired woman lounging on the bay window seats. Vivian glanced over to catch Astrid eyeing something with blatant interest, and as she looked over she saw that something was Gabriel. Vivian wanted to be annoyed at a woman in her late thirties chasing after a 27 year old, but she wasn't exactly in a place to throw stones. After all, Esme past forty and pulling the same shit.

_ One year. Has she already forgotten Dad? _

Across the room, a feral posse of five teenage boys busied themselves being loud and obnoxious. The Five, as they were called, were Vivian's nearest age-mates. They were also insufferable pigs. Rafe, the de facto leader, seemed to be regaling his comrades with a tale of some girls' breasts, if his hand motions were any indication. Storytime stopped for a moment when Lucien, Rafe's alcoholic father, turned around and threatened them with an upraised fist. The Five quieted, at least until Lucien turned back around, Rafe flipped him off and started up again.

Rudy and Gabriel's conference ended, and Rudy turned to face the crowd with raised hands, "Can we have quiet, please?" 

Vivian hugged herself in her armchair. The assembly grew silent, all eyes turning toward the fireplace and the men running the show.  _ Dad should be up there _ . Vivian pushed the thought away. Yes, Ivan should be here, leading the meeting, but he'd died in the fire in West Virginia, along with a substantial portion of the Pack.

Vivian tried to listen to Rudy's voice, to let its familiarity soothe her, but instead it rankled.  _ The Pack _ . Vivian looked around the room, barely recognizing the people around her. Newcomer or not, they were strangers now.

_ Maybe I'm the stranger _ . It was the simpler explanation, wasn't it? Maybe they were the same as ever, and she was the one who had changed. 

_ I haven't changed _ . Vivian brushed away the growing moisture under her eyes.  _ I can't change. I'm stuck. I wander around like a ghost, a specter trapped in my own misery _ . Vivian tried to pay attention to the matter at hand, the topic that seemed to be causing so much contention, but not crying took what little energy she had to spare.

The room grew louder and louder, and everyone sounded like they were on the verge of shouting. Vivian saw the Pack's ancient healer, Persia, cut down Lucien with an acidic quip while Esme and Astrid were arguing and talking over each other, a rapid-fire torrent of catty bile spewing from their mouths. Rudy was trying to regain order and failing utterly. 

The only person who wasn't adding to the noise was Gabriel. He stood aside, watching Rudy's attempts at control and clearly losing his patience.

As Vivian looked over at him, Gabriel glanced at her. Their eyes met, and Gabriel gave a small, conspiratorial smile. It confused Vivian for the moment it took her to realize,  _ Oh. He's not the only silent one in the room _ . She sat there, almost unaffected by the turmoil around her, and between the two of them the room's tension eddied like whitewater rapids.

Vivian held Gabriel's gaze. As disarmed as his stare could make her, she couldn't help but to also feel safe. Implicit in his attention was his care, and right now, in this room, she craved it.

Looking over at Rudy, she saw that he had totally lost control. She looked back at Gabriel, eyes asking the question he couldn't have heard from her lips. He sighed, strode up to and onto the coffee table, and shouted, "QUIET!"

The room stilled to dead silence. His roar cut through the bickering, and he had the attention of everyone, Vivian most of all.

Over on the bay window seat, Astrid made her appreciation plain, and without turning her head, Vivian could see Esme staring with frank interest. Vivian rolled her eyes, and looked back to Gabriel.

After scanning the room, daring disobedience, he spoke. "If you're done arguing, Rudy has more to say." He stepped off of the coffee table and back against the fireplace, letting the smaller, older male have the floor again. "Thank you, Gabriel. As I was saying..." Rudy continued speaking, but Vivian had stopped trying to pay attention. Standing up on the pretense of getting some water, Vivian could feel Gabriel's eyes on her as she left the room. Suddenly, she had to get away, away from these people, away from their politics, but most of all away from him.

 


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

 

_ Disclaimer _ _: I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of the book, “Blood and Chocolate,” by Annette Curtis Klause. I do, however, love her characters, and I hope she doesn’t mind me writing a story about them. Also, in order to make the relationships in this story legal, all of the characters have been aged up by three years._

* * *

 

 

 

In the kitchen, Vivian slipped out the back door and into the yard, profoundly relieved to have escaped that house and the people inside it. Outside, she could hear the buzz of conflict from the living room, muffled just enough to keep the particulars from the neighbors. 

Picking her way through the overgrown grass, Vivian settled down onto the old wooden bench under the grape arbor. Above, a handful of stars peeked through the darkening blanket of night. The glare from the streetlights obliterated the rest. 

_ I miss the stars _ . Vivian pulled her knees in and leaned back, surveying the sky, a pale shadow of the skies over West Virginia. At the inn, in the sparsely settled hills, the endless canopy of stars had watched over her. She'd been safe under their distant light. 

Then Vivian's thoughts changed course, and in her mind she saw those stars roasted red by flames. Her last night in West Virginia. The fire. The night she'd lost her father and her home. 

_ No _ . She squeezed her eyes shut against the memory.  _ No, I don't want to remember that. I don't. I want the happy times. I want the hunts, the camp-outs. I want the nights we stayed out watching meteor showers, wrapped up in blankets because it was freezing cold _ . But when she opened her eyes, she saw fire. 

_ Daddy... _ She crumpled, not fighting the tidal pull of misery, clutching herself to keep from falling apart. Pressing her face against her knee, Vivian sucked in air like she was drowning; her lungs didn't seem to work like they used to, capacity cut to half, ribs aching as they expanded. 

_ Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe... _ The mantra ran through Vivian's thoughts, fighting with the deafening white noise that had taken over. Gradually, her breaths slowed, and she loosened her iron grip on herself.  _ Just breathe _ . 

Dimly, distantly, she heard the back door slam. The whiny bickering that heralded The Five reached her ears. Vivian cleaned her face with her shirt, hoping that the shadows would hide the rest, but hoping to be left alone more. 

"This is such bullshit!"

"Who the hell do they think they are?"

"-treating us like fucking kids!" 

Vivian did her best to stay quiet, not wanting to alert the boys to her presence. It had been bad enough being surrounded by the pack, but the Five had somehow managed to acquire all of the worst traits of their packmates and amp them up to 11. 

_ They used to be your friends _ .

Vivian grimaced.  _ They used to be tolerable _ . Adolescence had taken her childhood pals and replaced them with hormonal time bombs. She couldn't remember the last conversation she'd had with them that hadn't ended with one of the Five snapping at the others. 

_ It's just jealousy. They're trying to impress you _ . 

Vivian rolled her eyes.  _ They'd impress me more if they learned to shower _ . Looking over at them, arguing amongst themselves, Vivian thought about what what she wanted from them and what they wanted from her.  _ There's really no overlap there. _ If their usual female companions were any clue, they were after a warm fucktoy.

_ And what do I want _ ? 

"Man, of course they're trying to keep us out. They don't want us to dominate!"

"...bunch of saggy old bastards can't handle the challenge."

Intrigued, Vivian turned an ear to their conversation.

Willem interrupted the posturing, "Look, there can't be any rules against us competing, right? Otherwise they would have said so." 

Rafe narrowed his eyes, "Yeah?"

"So, fuck what they think. We'll show up at the Ordeal ready to fight and to hell with those dinosaurs." Willem finished with a grin, a near copy of his boyhood smile but with a new, dangerous edge.

The Ordeal? Vivian sat, dumbstruck. She'd heard of it, an ancient rite to determine leadership of a pack, an all-out brawl between the willing adult males, but she'd never seen it. It was dangerous, in more ways than the obvious. They'd need space and privacy, and if someone died, which was far from rare, they'd have to hide the body, deal with the authorities... 

_ Why can't we just elect- _ Vivian dropped the question before it was fully formed. Of course they couldn't just elect a leader. When, in the past year, could the Pack agree on anything? 

Rafe let out a roar of triumph, "YES! We are going to fuck shit up, and then it's gonna be the reign of the Five, and these assholes will be bowing down to us!"

_ I cannot believe I dated that _ . Rafe was self-importance wrapped in bad tattoos with a scruffy goatee. Before last year though, he'd been everything she'd wanted. 

_ Well, almost. _

He'd been the next-best thing to Axel.

Vivian closed her eyes, feeling the familiar rush of self-loathing.  _ If you hadn't been so starry-eyed, you would have seen it coming. You would have seen Axel going off the rails. You would have known to warn Dad. You would have stopped it all _ . But she hadn't. Axel had been caught killing a human, and the Pack had paid the price. 

The back door opened with the first trickles of the Pack.  _ The meeting's over _ . This should have been a relief, a sign that she would soon have her house back, but Vivian couldn't stand going back in just yet, feeling the tension and the unrest, knowing it was her fault. Instead, she used the distraction to camouflage her escape into the woods. The air was cool, the moon was young, and the stars didn't judge.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Sunday afternoon found Vivian walking through Riverview toward the college's outdoor amphitheater. Esme and Rudy both had the day off, turning the house into a minefield of unwanted social interaction. Rather than face that, Vivian had set out for the free concert she'd overheard some of her classmates talking about. She'd never heard of the band, but an afternoon of mob anonymity would be less exhausting than performing "normal" for her family.

Above, through the veil of oak leaves, Vivian eyed the daytime moon. It was in the First Quarter phase, halfway between the dark of New Moon and the brilliant Full Moon. It spoke of newness, a sentiment echoed in the wind, with the smells of spring blooms and growing things. Vivian closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring the scents and listening to birdsong and... 

Vivian halted her reverie. There was a sound she couldn't place, sharp and mechanical and getting louder. She opened her eyes to see a black and silver Harley approaching. A shiver worked its way up her spine.  _ Gabriel _ .

He slowed as he drew nearer, stopping completely when he reached her. 

Cutting the engine, he called out, "Hey, Viv." 

Vivian felt her guard go up as she returned the greeting. "Hey."

"Where are you headed?" Gabriel asked the question with genuine interest as he leaned his arms on the handlebars. Anyone else would have looked relaxed, but there was something about Gabriel, something in his bearing that always seemed restless to her.

Gesturing in the direction of the campus, she answered, "Free concert at the amphitheater."

"Oh? Who's playing?"

Vivian shrugged, opting for honesty. "No idea."

Gabriel's expression shifted subtly, from curious to concerned.  _ Is he worried about me? _ It seemed absurd. Not the worry; Vivian was honest enough to admit she was in a bad place. No, she was surprised that he seemed to care. 

"Well... do you need a ride?"

Vivian felt a twinge of unease. Instinct told her it was a bad idea, that Gabriel, somehow, was dangerous to her; maybe not physically, but emotionally. That instinct told her she should decline and keep walking. 

Vivian ignored it, surprised to find that she wanted to go with him.  _ When was the last time I actually wanted anything?  _ How could she deny herself this?

"Sure." Vivian walked over as Gabriel moved up on the seat, making room for her to throw her leg over the motorcycle and slide on behind him. Faced with the broad expanse of his muscled back, Vivian chose to hold on to the leather jacket knotted around his waist. It may have been less secure, but it was the safest choice in other ways. 

"Ready?" 

Vivian tried not to think about how she could feel his voice rumble through him. "Yeah."

Gabriel brought the engine to life, its roar mercifully blasting away Vivian's train of thought. As they pulled away from the curb, Vivian felt a moment of quailing fear and clutched Gabriel's waist tightly. The pavement below them was beginning to run by very fast, and nothing was keeping her on her seat except for gravity and good luck. 

Gabriel called out over the noise, "Okay back there?"

Vivian, starting to get her bearings, called back, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Gabriel shouted, "Okay," and started to speed up. As the trees began whipping by, Vivian felt herself relaxing and almost enjoying the moment. There was a definite thrill in trusting yourself to two wheels with no barriers, and Vivian relished it, almost wanting Gabriel to go faster.

However, as they came within sight of the concert, Vivian was disappointed that the ride was over. Cars lined both sides of the streets, had lined most of the streets on the way in, but right next to the venue was a space just big enough for a motorcycle. Gabriel pulled in and silenced the Harley, and Vivian carefully disentangled herself from the machine and him. 

Standing on the sidewalk, Vivian faced him. He was staring at her, and she should have felt uneasy, should have felt afraid, but she didn't. Gabriel was looking at her, and after so many months of invisibility, she wanted to be seen.

"Do...do you want to stay?"  _ Idiot. IDIOT _ ! Why would he want to stay? Did she really think he had nothing better to do than hang around her mopey ass? 

Vivian glanced down at his chest, too embarrassed to look him in the eye. "Sorry, that was stupid-" 

"Sure." 

She looked up. Vivian couldn't for the life of her read his expression, but the steadiness with which he returned her gaze seemed sincere.

Gabriel lowered the kickstand and stood to walk with Vivian. Wordlessly, they made their way from the street, across the grassy lawn, to the tiered stone seats of the amphitheater. They passed couples, singletons, even a group of kids from school before they found some space near the edge of the concrete rings. 

The opening band was already on stage, doing their best to impress but not succeeding. Vivian was grateful for the noise as Gabriel pulled his jacket off and settled down next to her.  _ What now _ ? The invitation had been an impulse decision, one she wasn't ready to regret, but now she'd trapped herself into conversation. She'd have to be funny, or flirty or happy, and she wasn't sure she could muster the act. 

Looking over at him to gauge his mood, Vivian found him watching the stage, unconcerned. He didn't seem to have any expectations of her; he seemed content enough to just be here and share the moment.

As if he could feel her watching him, Gabriel turned and caught the scent of her worry. "What is it?"

Vivian didn't answer, just looked at him, seeing him, really seeing him, for the first time. He wasn't pressuring her, wasn't demanding anything of her; he was just here, warm and real, and strong enough to handle her problems. What's more, the way he looked at her, she could almost believe that he wanted to. 

A sudden urge came over her, and before she could examine it, Vivian found herself leaning into his warmth, meeting her lips to his. A moment passed, a heartbeat of uncertainty, before his lips parted and she felt his hand reaching up to cup her face, exerting a pressure that wasn't forceful, but steadying. Encouraged by his welcome, she tasted him, and he returned her kiss gently, cautiously, his thumb caressing her cheek. 

Vivian pulled away first, and as she lifted her eyes to meet Gabriel's fathomless gaze, she felt the weight of all the things she wanted to say, but couldn't. Instead, she leaned against him and they stayed like that, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her waist. 


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

_ Disclaimer _ _: I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of the book, “Blood and Chocolate,” by Annette Curtis Klause. I do, however, love her characters, and I hope she doesn’t mind me writing a story about them. Also, in order to make the relationships in this story legal, all of the characters have been aged up by three years._

* * *

 

He was outside with Esme, Rudy and the others, waiting for the last stragglers before they left for the state park. It was Saturday, and the first quarter moon had grown to fullness. It was the last full moon before the Ordeal, and there would be a whole-Pack run tonight, or almost whole. Vivian wasn't going.

She stood in the kitchen, watching the scene through the windows. Wolf-kind gathered, snappy and combative as ever, but there was a sharp new edge to the bickering. The males seemed to be sizing each other up, feeling out the competition. They'd be doing it all night, no doubt, laughing it off as play. Vivian wanted none of it.

 _That's not why you're staying home_.

Uneasily, Vivian flicked her gaze to Gabriel and back again. They still hadn't spoken about it. The kiss. On Sunday night, after the concert, he'd given her a ride home, and after a quiet, "Thanks," she'd left him, like a coward-

 _Like a coward? You ARE a coward_.

Vivian sighed. She hadn't known what to say on Sunday, and the past six days hadn't helped. To his credit, Gabriel hadn't pushed the issue, but their reckoning was coming.

Looking up again, Vivian studied him through the glass. He was joking with Rudy, leaning against the truck. He'd be riding up with them, leaving the Harley here to avoid attracting attention. After all, fewer vehicles meant better hiding places, and the Harley was so damn loud...

Vivian's thoughts trailed off and she saw that Gabriel had noticed her watching him. Their eyes met for a second before Vivian looked away, unable to stand the heat. Grabbing a glass of water, she retreated upstairs. _Coward_.

In her room, the window was open to the bright warmth of the sun. The afternoon sky was unblemished by clouds, and the scent of the neighbors' honeysuckle carried on the slight breeze. From below, Vivian could hear strains of Pack conversations. She turned on the radio to drown them out.

Vivian sat down on the bed and sipped at the glass of water. _Well, what now, Gandillon?_ It would be hours until nightfall, when it would be safe to change, and she wasn't tired enough to nap.

 _You sleep too much_.

Vivian didn't bother denying the thought. It would be like denying the wetness of water.

 _Water. Hmm..._ Vivian stood, grabbing the silk robe off of her desk chair. A bath sounded nice.

Down the hall, Vivian undressed as the tub filled with steaming hot water. Shooting a quick glance at the door to make sure it was locked, she dipped her foot in, testing the temperature before sinking into the warmth.

Vivian's breath hissed at the brief discomfort as her skin adjusted to the heat. For a moment, she debated getting out and waiting for the water to cool. The moment passed, and Vivian relaxed and stretched out as much as the tub would allow. It wasn't much; the tub was neither deep nor long enough for a proper soak. Instead, Vivian settled for leaning back and bending her legs at the knee. Reclining, the water came up to just under her breasts and lapped around her thighs. Resting her head against the tiles, Vivian closed her eyes and sighed.

The slow, steady drip, drip, drip of the spout echoed on the tiles while the radio played faintly in the background. Focusing her attention, Vivian heard car doors shutting and engines starting. _They're leaving_.

And yet, one solitary set of footsteps was making its way from the kitchen to the living room and up the stairs. Vivian might have worried about an intruder, but the gait was familiar. _Esme_.

Stopping at the door, she knocked lightly. "Viv?"

"Yeah?"

"We're about to leave. Are you sure you won't come with us tonight?"

 _It's maybe the one thing I am sure of._ "Yeah."

Esme audibly sighed. "Alright. Let the record show that I tried."

As she walked away, Vivian scowled at the door. _What was that supposed to mean_?

Ignoring the parental jab, Vivian closed her eyes and tried to relax. She couldn't. Instead, she kept trying to parse Esme's words.

_She makes it sound like she's tired of dealing with me._

_Do you honestly think she's not? You have to know that you're a massive pain in the ass._

Vivian searched, but she couldn't find the denial she should have had ready. She felt like a pain in the ass. Was it any wonder that Esme was sick of her shit? Who wouldn't be? Who wants to deal with a miserable teenager day in and day out?

Sinking down into the water, Vivian lay on her back, resting her head on her arms. With her ears submerged and her eyes closed, she was left alone with her thoughts.

 _Why would anyone want to be around me? I'm a black hole, sucking up all of the light and joy that comes my way. I don't even want to be around me_.

The water rippled around her face as she breathed, chest rising and falling with inhale and exhale. If she moved her arms, there would be nothing supporting her head, nothing to keep her from going under completely.

_Go under._

_Stay under_.

The thoughts were a brief flicker in her mind, not conscious, not voluntary. Vivian's eyes opened as she processed their meaning. _No_ . She pulled herself up to a sitting position. _NO_.

The bath was ruined. Vivian stood and stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel and drying herself roughly. She drained the water and dressed quickly before she left.

In her room, Vivian made her way straight to the open window and crawled through. The shingles on the screened-in back porch abraded her heat-pinkened skin, but she ignored it. Late afternoon had made the subtle shift to evening, the light was dying golden, and she'd just casually thought about killing herself.

 _Calm the hell down, Viv. It was just a thought_.

Vivian shook her head. Blood pumped through her veins like ice water, leaving her clear-headed for maybe the first time in months.

 _It wasn't just a thought. I meant it_.

Not that it would have worked. It took a lot of effort to kill a loup garou, and even then instinct would have made her come up for air before she passed out. To be really effective, she'd have to sever the spine, destroy her brain, or-

 _NOT. HELPING_. Vivian gripped the sides of her skull as though she could rip the thoughts out of her head. Instead, she ran her hands through her hair and watched the sky darken.

 _I have to do something. I can't keep going on like this. Something has to change_.

"Like what?" She asked herself sarcastically. They didn't make antidepressants for werewolves, and anything she said to a psychiatrist would make them run, screaming, for the hills.

 _This all goes back to the fire, to Dad. I'm still mourning him_.

Vivian sat up straighter as the idea rolled around in her head. She still hadn't accepted her father's death, hadn't come to terms with it.

 _And if I do I'll stop self-destructing_?

It made as much sense as anything else.

 _How the hell do you consciously get over grief_? If it was so simple, wouldn't she have done it already?

 _Have I been trying to_?

Vivian leaned back against the roof, thinking. For the past year, the pain had been her constant companion, a steady, aching reminder of her father. Losing that would be like losing him all over again.

 _No_. Losing it would mean remembering his life instead of living in his death. Ivan was dead. He'd been buried in West Virginia, and she'd watched him go into the ground. Nothing was going to bring him back, especially not her misery.

 _I need to remember him as he lived. The good times_.

In her mind, she saw them playing together, running together, hunting together. She saw warm summer evenings in the backyard while the Pack socialized and cold winter mornings in the kitchen as Ivan cooked. She saw herself, three years old, helping him with the gardening. Vivian smiled faintly, remembering her excitement for "weeding", and his patience as he steered her away from the herbs.

A strange longing filled her, and Vivian realized that her hands were itching to draw the scene. _Do I even have a sketchpad_? Her old one had been lost in the fire, and in the past year she hadn't felt the need to replace it. Until now.

Not questioning the impulse, Vivian crawled through the window to grab a pencil and a notebook off of her desk. The pages were lined, but as she made her way back out onto the roof, Vivian couldn't be bothered to care. She wanted to draw, and it genuinely didn't matter if it looked terrible.

Balancing the notebook on her knees, Vivian saw the scene in her mind and began sketching lines on the paper, making a faint outline of what would eventually fill the page. She worked slowly, steadily, not troubled by the occasional mistake. She was out of practice, after all. She couldn't be expected to pick up drawing after a year's hiatus and be perfect.

A soft wind carried the sounds and smells of the woods up to her perch. The seductive scents of pine needles, new grass and damp earth called to Vivian, but she resisted. Day was fading as she worked, the light changing from gold to the brilliant crimsons and oranges of sunset. The streetlights flickered on as Vivian finished, pulling away from her focus like a diver surfacing for air. She looked down at her sketch and smiled. It was rough, no doubt, but the little girl was clearly her and the man was clearly her father. She'd tried to capture the moment, and she didn't think she'd done too bad a job.

 _I'm happy_. The realization made her grin even harder. Happy was rare these days. _I need to do this more often_.

Vivian sighed and looked up at the emerging stars, feeling the growing excitement from the full moon.

She made a move to go inside when she heard the grasses at the edge of the lawn rustle. Turning back, Vivian saw the Five saunter up to the house, arguing. Rafe, as always, was leading the group, while Willem, Finn and Gregory followed. Ulf, Astrid's son and ultimate beta male, brought up the rear, fidgeting but silent.

Rafe called out, "Hey, Viv! We heard you're playing hooky. Come run with us!"

Vivian bit back the immediate, "Hell no," unsure of her motivation. _Am I saying no because I'd rather wallow in solitude, or because I actually don't want to go?_

The question was answered when Finn, Willem's twin, leered up at her. "Come on Viv, it'll be fun." The look in his eyes told her exactly what he had in mind.

"I know what you mean by 'fun'. No way."

Gregory laughed, and Finn punched him in the arm. Willem looked up, pleading. "Please? Come on, please? Viv, you never hang out with us anymore. I'm starting to think we smell bad or something."

Vivian softened, remorseful. _We were friends once_.

"Soon, okay? I promise. Just not tonight. I'm not really in the mood for company."

Rafe rolled his eyes, "Aw hell, I told you it was a waste of time." Slinging an arm around Gregory's shoulders, he turned towards the woods and called back, "The bitch is too good for us."

Vivian yelled after him, "Eat shit and die, Rafe!" The words held no heat. Rafe was an asshole, but he'd been an asshole for years. This was nothing new.

Finn shrugged and followed Rafe, with Ulf falling in line behind them. Willem alone stayed behind. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be. He's just being Rafe."

"I'm going to hold you to that promise, though. We need to hang out soon."

Vivian nodded, "Yeah, I know. We will."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now, go catch up with the creep squad. And try not to get into too much trouble."

Willem grinned, "What fun would that be?" With that, he started running after the others.

Vivian yelled after him, "You do smell, you know!" She smiled as he disappeared into the woods. _Jerk_.

Looking down at the notebook in her lap, Vivian closed the cover and crawled inside. At her desk, she pulled out the page and two pieces of tape. She mounted the sketch above her bed, a daily reminder. _I need to do this more often_.

Vivian smiled and, making a mental note to pick up a sketchbook and drawing pencils, she went out the window and jumped down to the ground. The full moon rose overhead, and the sweet night belonged to her alone.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which I earn that "M" rating.

* * *

_ Disclaimer _ _: I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of the book, “Blood and Chocolate,” by Annette Curtis Klause. I do, however, love her characters, and I hope she doesn’t mind me writing a story about them. Also, in order to make the relationships in this story legal, all of the characters have been aged up by three years._

* * *

 

Vivian awoke to the sound of car doors slamming shut. Opening her eyes, she saw morning sunlight coming through the open window. As she rolled over onto her back, she remembered coming in some hours earlier. Exhausted from running, she'd had barely enough energy to leap onto the roof, come through the window and collapse on her bed.

The front door opened and the sounds of several voices floated up the stairs. _They're back._ Vivian could hear as the living room and kitchen filled with wolf-kind. They'd stay for a quick chat and maybe some of Rudy's coffee, but they'd leave soon enough.

Vivian lay there, weighing the merits of going back to sleep versus going downstairs when her nose caught the first notes of coffee, sealing her decision. She stood and threw on enough clothes to make her decent, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she caught sight of the sketch above her bed. She smiled. _Do what makes you happy_. Buoyed, Vivian made her way downstairs, mumbling sleepy hellos to her packmates.

In the kitchen, the coffee pot bubbled away as Rudy and Esme made easy conversation with some of the Pack elders.

Vivian waved, "Good morning," as she made a beeline for the mugs.

"Morning, sweetie," Esme replied, "What's got you up so early?" She sounded pleasantly surprised, a tone Vivian hadn't heard in a while.

Vivian picked up a stolen diner mug and held it out as her answer before filling it with the piping hot brew.

Esme laughed, "Ah. So, socializing, then?"

Vivian grinned before she took a sip, "Of course." Rather than retreat back up to her room, Vivian leaned against the counter, the seats having already been taken. Esme raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

The conversation, once it started up again, was mostly centered around the Orioles and their early season standing. To Vivian, they may as well have been discussing astrophysics, but as long as they weren't arguing, she was happy. Rolf, Gregory's father, was making some point about ERAs when Gabriel walked in.

Immediately, Vivian's eyes were riveted on him. Dressed in a tight t-shirt and worn jeans, he should have looked casual, but there was nothing casual about him.

For his part, Gabriel didn't seem to react to her presence, at least not until he had said his greetings to the room. Then, as he made his way to the coffee machine, he locked eyes with Vivian and she felt naked despite her clothes.

"Morning, Viv." His tone was cool, but his gaze was hot; it simmered, hinting at all the unspoken things between them.

"Morning." Vivian looked away and sipped at her coffee, wanting to break the tension but hungry to be near him.

He moved in closer to pick up a cup, close enough for her to smell his scent, to feel his radiating body heat. If she shifted her arm over an inch or two, she would be touching him. When she dared to look over at him, she found him watching her.

At that moment, Vivian had exactly two thoughts: _He's dangerous,_ and, _I don't care_. Vivian drank in the sight of him: his tousled hair, his beard stubble, his ice-blue eyes, his mouth... Distractedly, Vivian stared at his mouth, thinking about his lips, their taste, the way they'd felt against hers, wondering how they'd feel on other places...

Vivian looked back up and her breath caught in her throat. There was a hunger in Gabriel's gaze that could not be mistaken. Vivian knew that if they hadn't been surrounded by packmates-

_Oh, shit._ Vivian glanced over to see what the others had seen. The conversation at the table continued uninterrupted, with no one looking their way.

Even so, as Vivian looked back she saw Gabriel pouring coffee for himself, only a slight tic in his cheek signaling that he noticed her attention. Avoiding her eyes, he turned and made an abrupt exit to the living room. Vivian was almost grateful; after all, if he was out of sight, she might stop feeling the crazy urge to rip his clothes off-

Vivian took a quick sip of coffee and almost choked. _Bloody Moon._

She stayed in the kitchen as long as she could, trying to listen to her elders' conversation, but fighting against the wicked images forming in her mind. As soon as she finished her cup, Vivian escaped upstairs to her room, steadfastly ignoring Gabriel on her way through the living room.

By the time Gabriel's Harley roared away with the rest of the Pack, she'd more or less gotten her imagination under control. When Esme knocked on the door to let Vivian know that they'd be taking naps, Vivian was trying and failing to study for the last week of classes. However, as Esme's footsteps faded away, Vivian admitted to herself that there was no way she'd be getting any real work done. So, instead, she changed clothes, brushed her hair and grabbed her bag. The campus bookstore probably sold art supplies, and she'd promised herself a sketchbook and drawing pencils.

The air outside held a hint of sticky summer humidity; Vivian could feel the moisture in her lungs and on her skin. Ignoring it, she made her way through Riverview, up to the university.

The bookstore was part of a strip mall containing a burrito joint and an Asian bistro, both of which were packed with college students eating lunch. The store, on the other hand, was empty, despite the large posters advertising end-of-semester textbook buyback. Straightening her shoulders and trying to look like she belonged, Vivian strode back into the stacks, looking for the art section. She found it against the back wall, with stock ranging from paints to canvases to easels and in one corner shelves with sketchbooks of varying sizes. Picking out one of the larger ones, Vivian ran a finger down the spine and savored the smell of fresh paper and possibilities. She re-shelved it and spent a few minutes seriously considering her choices. After much deliberation, she opted for a smaller hardcover that would fit nicely in her bookbag. Walking along, she picked out a pack of graphite drawing pencils, an eraser, a sharpener, and, on a whim, some charcoals.

At the register, Vivian felt a moment's hesitation when she saw the total. It was more than she'd spent on herself in the past several months. Taking a deep breath, she thought, _do what makes you happy, right?_ Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her wallet as she caught sight of the bowl of condoms on the counter.

A nervous thrill ran through her as the thoughts from earlier, the thoughts she'd been fighting, came flooding back.

_Do what makes you happy, right?_

_I can't be seriously considering this-_

"Miss?" The cashier interrupted her. Looking at him, Vivian weighed the wallet in her hand.

_You can't be serious-_

_I am_.

"How much are the condoms?" She blurted out before she could change her mind.

The cashier, to his credit, didn't even blink. "They're free. Y'know, safety first, and all that."

"Okay." Taking a deep breath, Vivian pulled out Esme's credit card. When he handed over her purchases, Vivian reached into the bowl and grabbed a small handful, stuffing them into her bag. "Thanks."

The cashier nodded, "Have a nice day!"

Vivian bit back a giggle as she walked out of the store, thoughts racing. Outside, the aromas of Americanized ethnic foods battled in the air, and a plan formed in her mind.

_Are you sure about this?_

Vivian paused for a moment, trying to calm her nerves. _No. No, I am not_ , she answered as she turned and started following her feet.

Gabriel lived in an apartment complex not too far from campus. She knew this from the times she'd ridden with Uncle Rudy to pick him up for Pack functions. Vivian walked, letting her memory lead her through the streets until she stood outside of his building, a squat, brick two-story backed by woods and identical to the buildings surrounding it. His Harley was parked out on the street, and the sight of it brought reality barreling back into focus. Vivian breathed deeply, steadying herself, and walked up to the front door. From the mailboxes, Vivian learned that Gabriel's apartment was the fourth, and as she climbed the stairs, she alternated between feelings of surreality and utter disbelief. Then she knocked on the door and he answered, and, looking at him, Vivian felt absolute certainty.

"Can I come in?"

He was wearing the same t-shirt, but had swapped out his jeans for sweatpants. Judging by the time it took him to react, she'd probably woken him from his nap. "Yeah, sure." He stepped aside and allowed her to walk past him.

Closing the door behind her, he asked, "Can I get you some coffee?"

Vivian tossed her bag on his sofa. "No, not really."

Gabriel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. I guess we're skipping pleasantries. So, what do you want?"

Vivian waited a moment, giving herself one last chance to chicken out. Instead, she looked up at him and smiled slightly. "I thought you knew."

Gabriel's gaze sharpened as her meaning hit home, and she crossed the distance between them, not thinking, not hesitating as she reached up to kiss him. His lips descending on hers hungrily, greedily, as his hands found her bottom and picked her up, bringing them face to face as he held her against him. Dreamily, distractedly, Vivian felt him walking them to the sofa and settling down with her straddling his lap. He bit her lip, and she gasped as he pulled her in for more. When he began nibbling at her neck, a low moan escaped her and she reached under his shirt, exploring the exquisite tautness of his torso.

As her hands found his waistband, he pulled her away.

"Okay." Gabriel's breath was ragged as he stammered, "...okay Viv. I think we should stop."

Vivian's answer was adamant. "No."

"Viv-"

"Please." Her eyes met his, pleading. She wanted this, needed this more than he could know.

Gabriel's resolve faltered. "Are you sure? Viv, I... I want you," He stopped and took a breath, "God, I want you, but I don't want you to make a mistake you'll regret later."

Vivian lifted a hand to touch the small scar on his lip, considering what he'd said. Slowly, carefully, she answered him, "Maybe you're a mistake I want to make."

She saw the shift in his eyes, felt the hitch in his breathing as his decision was made. He gripped her hips, pulling her in tighter against him, and the feel of his erection took her breath away. Not breaking eye contact, she reached down and pulled her shirt up over her head and tossed it on the floor, followed closely by his shirt and her bra. Bared before him, Vivian watched Gabriel closely as he discovered her, fingers exploring her skin. Trailing lower, she felt her pulse race as he unzipped her jeans and she gasped when he slipped his hand inside her panties and stroked her.

"Gabe-"

"Do me a favor?" He murmured against her ear.

"Y-yes?" She could have flown to the moon for him.

She felt him smile, "Take your pants off."

Not needing to be asked twice, Vivian stood, kicked off her shoes, and pulled down her jeans and underwear. Before she had a chance to right herself, Gabriel leaned forward and, taking her hips in his hands, brought her toward him to meet his mouth to the apex of her thighs.

"Oh, God-" Vivian managed to choke out before his tongue on her clitoris wiped out all rational thought. Gripping his shoulders to steady herself, Vivian followed his silent direction, spreading her legs and leaning back slightly to give him fuller access to her. She should have been off balance, but his firm grip kept her on her feet. Looking down, Vivian could have fainted dead away at the sight of Gabriel's head between her legs, but as delicious tension built within, no force on earth could have taken her from this moment.

A second before her orgasm, Gabriel sunk a finger, then two inside of her, testing her wetness. Vivian cried out as she spasmed around him, wave after wave of sensation washing over her, leaving her breathless and weak-kneed. Gabriel pulled her against him, and she fell into his arms, craving his touch.

Looking down into his eyes, she asked, "What about you? I thought we were going to-"

Gabriel sighed as he traced the curve of her ear. "I don't have any protection." He grinned wryly, "It's been a while."

Vivian chuckled and kissed his forehead, "Silly. All you had to do was ask."

Frowning, Gabriel asked, "What?" as she leaned over to grab her bag. After fishing around for a moment, Vivian pulled out her hand, brandishing a condom.

Gabriel looked at the condom and then looked at her, eyes dark with ferocious, raw emotion as he grabbed her roughly and kissed her. Taking the condom, he maneuvered his waistband down over his hips, freeing his cock. Vivian stared, watching as he rolled the rubber on, sheathing himself within. As he looked at her face, he caught her chin and tipped it up, forcing her to look back at him and read the question in his eyes.

_Bloody Moon, he's beautiful._ She kissed him swiftly, hungrily, then pulled back as she raised up to position herself over him, one hand gently holding his shaft, ready to guide him in. Vivian looked up to be sure he was watching only to find that she had his rapt attention. Carefully, she sank down on his cock, savoring the sensations as she stretched to accommodate him.

Gabriel groaned, a guttural, primal sound that filled Vivian with a fierce delight. Slowly, giving her body time to adjust, Vivian began to move, letting Gabriel's responses guide her into a rhythm that had him gripping her hips and incoherently begging for more.

"Viv-" he growled against grit teeth, "Ah, God, Viv, don't stop."

She couldn't have stopped, wouldn't have stopped for the world, not with him looking up at her like a supplicant before his goddess, a dying man before salvation. His need for her was etched in ecstasy on his face, and for that alone, she would have given him anything.

She felt the shift in him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in the curve of her neck. His cry was muffled in her flesh, but she felt it ripple throughout her body. She held him as he rode out his climax, his hips bucking against hers. As his breathing slowed, he pulled her in for a kiss that still tasted of her. He broke away to nuzzle her neck, and they held each other, dazed and replete.

Smiling against her throat, he said, "I don't suppose you have more of those?"

"More of what?"

"Condoms."

Vivian leaned back and grinned mischievously. "Why? Are you telling me you're already thinking about round two?"

Gabriel's eyes met hers as he nodded, "Hell yes."


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

 

_ Disclaimer _ _: I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of the book, “Blood and Chocolate,” by Annette Curtis Klause. I do, however, love her characters, and I hope she doesn’t mind me writing a story about them. Also, in order to make the relationships in this story legal, all of the characters have been aged up by three years._

* * *

 

 

"Okay, what's the story behind this one?" Laying next to Gabriel in his bed, Vivian traced the raised semicircle of a scar on his forearm. 

"Another barfight; I fell on a broken pint glass."

"Another? How many bar fights have you been in?"

Gabriel chuckled, "I really need to stop hanging out with Bucky," naming a rowdy agemate of Esme's. 

"Okay, how about this one?" Vivian pointed to the pale stripe along his collarbone.

"Fell off my bike when I was seven."

Vivian sat up and glared at him. "Now you're just fucking with me."

"I'm not. I was over by the sheds, going downhill, and I lost control and ended up in a junk pile with my neck sliced open."

"What happened then?"

"Well, I ran back to the Inn, crying-"

"Aww."

Now it was Gabriel's turn to glare, "I was seven. Anyway, I came up to the kitchen door and walked in, and my mom saw me and screamed, because the skin was just hanging there and the bone was showing and my shirt was covered with blood-"

"Damn."

"They had to take me to a human doctor for a tetanus shot and stitches."

"Poor thing."

Gabriel glanced over her, his eyes lingering on her bare breasts. "So, what now?"

Vivian sighed and looked over at his alarm clock. 4:12 pm. "I've got to go. Do you mind if I shower first?"

Gabriel sat up and stretched. "Sure; there are towels in the closet and there should be a new toothbrush in there if you need it."

Vivian grinned and leaned in close to Gabriel, "Why, do you think my breath smells bad?"

"Terrible."

Vivian giggled and moved to stand up when Gabriel tugged her back and pressed her into the bed with a ravenous kiss.

Breathless, Vivian pulled away. "I'm never going to leave this apartment if you keep doing that."

"And?"

Vivian giggled and planted a quick peck on Gabriel's lips before wriggling out from under him. "I really have to go." 

She stood and walked to the bathroom before he could change her mind. Inside, she showered quickly, doing her best to work the knots out of her hair with his comb. As she cut the water flow and stepped out of the tub, Vivian felt the first twinges of the soreness that was to come. She smiled and set about to towel drying her hair as best she could. Vivian couldn't see Gabriel owning a blow dryer and Esme would be suspicious as hell if Vivian came home with wet hair.

Towel-wrapped, Vivian stepped out of the steamy air into the living room. Gabriel was in the small galley kitchen, filling a second glass of water from the tap. Smiling to herself, Vivian picked her strewn clothes off of the floor and pulled them on. 

Looking up as she stretched her shirt over her torso, Vivian saw Gabriel eyeing her over the countertop. Smirking, Vivian asked, "Is one of those for me?" 

Gabriel returned the smirk and handed over a glass. As Vivian drank, Gabriel asked, "Do you want a ride back?"

Vivian finished the water and shook her head. "I'll walk, thanks."

Gabriel shrugged, "Alright. So, when can we do this again?" 

Vivian set the glass down on the counter. "No idea. I guess I'll let you know."

"Feeling cryptic?"

Vivian snorted, "I'm graduating in a week. My schedule's a little bit hectic."

"I'm just teasing."

Vivian arched a brow. "Save that for later."

Gabriel's stare grew dangerous. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to leave this apartment today?

There was no helping the saucy grin that spread across her face. Vivian picked up her bag and waved. "Bye!"

 

* * *

 

The clock ticked mercilessly, but Vivian could barely hear it over the din. It was the afternoon of her last day of school, ever, and while her classmates were signing yearbooks and making summer plans, Vivian sat quietly, working on a small sketch of Gabriel. Backed by flames, he ran out of the burning inn with Jenny Garnier's baby in his arms. It was a moment tattooed in her memory, the last moment of her father's life. 

_ No wonder I'm in a foul mood. _ Vivian pushed the sketchpad away, looking up at the clock only to see a human approaching. 

He was tall, with long brown hair and brown eyes. He started as her gaze skewered him, but continued walking toward her desk. Vivian bristled at the proximity.

"Uh, hi! I was wondering, would you sign my yearbook?"

Vivian arched a brow.  _ How mundane. _ "Seriously?"

The human smiled, "No, not really."

"Then what?"

"I, um...I promised myself that I'd talk to you before senior year ended."

Vivian stared at him, giving him a chance to hear the sentence he'd just uttered. "Really?"

"That's weird, isn't it?"

"A bit."

He sighed, defeated. "Great. Yeah, well, sorry to have bothered you. I'll let you get back to your... oh."

Vivian followed his eyes to her sketch. "What?" 

"That's... that's really good."

Vivian felt a small swell of pride in her chest. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm more of a Language Arts/poetry guy myself, so I don't know much about Art art, but it's really vivid."

_ It should be. I've had nightmares about this exact scene for months now. _

Vivian smiled and, taking her sketchbook in hand, tore out the page, handing it to him. "Here."

"No, I can't-"

"You succeeded in your quest. Have a trophy." 

The human took the sketch and smiled. "Thanks. I'm Aiden." He offered a hand, and, hesitant, she accepted it. "I'm Vivian."

"Gandillon?"

"How did you know?"

"I...I might have been trying to figure out your name from the yearbook. You're one of the 'not pictureds'."

Vivian shrugged. "I didn't see the point."

"Yeah. Why spend a couple hundred bucks to get some pictures that'll just embarrass you in 10 years anyway?"

_ Especially when you feel no particular connection to this school or the people in it. _ Vivian looked at the human, Aiden, with his casually rebellious hair, statement ear stud and gently earnest demeanor. He was still a puppy, unused to the cruelty of fate. 

_ We have nothing in common. _ Vivian realized. The thought soured their interaction, and Vivian packed her things into her bag and stood. "Anyway, I'm going to go." 

"The bell hasn't rung yet."

Vivian looked over at Mr. Antony, "Do you think he cares?"

Aiden looked over at their teacher, a true first generation hippie, as Vivian slipped through the crowd and out the door.

Nobody tried to stop her, and she didn't look back to see the human's reaction.  _ I'm never going to see him again, so why would I even begin to care? _ Instead, Vivian quietly made her way out of the building, careful to avoid the halls patrolled by hall monitors and admin. As she crossed the distance between the door and the street, Vivian smirked,  _ I'm skipping class. The Five would be so proud. _

The calendar may have shown May, but the temperature said July. Vivian walked down the residential streets between the school and Rudy's house in a state of increasing misery. Her people weren't made for the heat. Her people had lived their lives in northern forests, on icy mountaintops, in the vastness of the tundra. Why the happy hell had they ever moved this far south?

Cursing the humidity as a droplet of sweat worked its way down her spine, Vivian pulled her hair up off of her neck and piled it on top of her head.  _ My kingdom for a breeze. _

"Hey, Viv."

She jumped. Turning, she saw Willem and the rest of the Five behind her, grins toothy and devious.

"Jesus, someone should make you wear a bell."

"You're just mad that we snuck up on you."

_ He's right, damnit. _ "Sure. Now, what do you want?"

"Wanna hang out? Mall first, Tooley's later, at least until they kick us out?"

_ Hell no. _ Vivian felt the words behind her teeth, but then she looked at Rafe. There was a challenge in his eyes, a taunt that she felt herself rising to.  _ I promised Willem, didn't I? _

"Sure."

Willem grinned, and Rafe muttered a curse, digging into his wallet and handing Finn a $10 bill. 

Finn smiled, "Thanks, Rafe, and thank you, Viv. Now, let's go; it's hot as a ballsack out here."

Willem objected, "Hey, who made you leader?"

"Well, I'm not following you."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because you're going the wrong way, dipshit."

The bickering continued apace, and Vivian began to regret her decision.

 

* * *

 

 

They were sitting outside of an Auntie Anne's, slurping down frozen lemonades, when Vivian finally had enough. Things had been bearable as they went through the FYE, and she'd turned a blind eye to their shoplifting. She'd even put up with their juvenile attempts to get her into Victoria's Secret. But this was it.

The boys, hungry for mischief, had taken to leering at young girls and cackling at their obvious discomfort. Vivian had slammed her lemonade on the table and stormed off.

Willem and Rafe had called after her, the one as apologetic as he other was not.  _ Assholes. _ Vivian fumed as she strode away, ignoring them and cursing her own idiocy.  _ What did I think was going to happen? _

_ I hoped it could be like it was. _ The Five used to be worth talking to. Hanging out with them used to be fun.

_ It's not my fault that they became jerks.  _ The thought did nothing to assuage her disappointment.

Stealing a quick look back to see if they were following her, Vivian plowed into somebody.

She looked forward to mutter an apology, but was interrupted. 

"Vivian?"

It was the human from school. "Aiden? Uh, hi." He was flanked by a handful of humans she vaguely recognized, but couldn't name. 

"Hey, I'm really glad I ran into you."

_ What? _ "Why?" The word was out of her mouth before she could bite it back.

Aiden seemed unfazed by her curt question. "I've been thinking about that sketch you gave me."

_ This is what I get for talking to humans. _ "And?"

"Well, I was thinking. Quince and I," he gestured to the muscly blond to his right, "we're putting together a small zine. Nothing huge, we just wanted a way to get our stories and poetry out there." He paused to gauge Vivian's reaction. 

"And?"

"Would you be interested in contributing some art? We wouldn't be able to pay you right away, but if we end up making any money, you'd get a cut."

Vivian inwardly recoiled.  _ A zine? How '90's _ . "Uh, I appreciate the offer, but-" 

_ Shut up. Just shut your face-hole. _

_ He's a human. I can't be encouraging any kind of interaction here. _

She looked up at him. The boy actually looked nervous. With his goofy hair and doe eyes, she couldn't see him as a threat.

_ Viv, just say yes. _

"Sure."

Aiden perked up. "Really?"

_ God, he's such a puppy. _ "Yeah. What would you need and when?"

"We're not really sure yet. We were thinking that if you were in, we'd let you see what we've got and decide what you want to make."

"Uh, yeah, that sounds like a good idea."  _ I'm actually doing this. I'm ACTUALLY doing this. _ Then, Vivian heard the telltale bickering that heralded the Five.  _ Shit! _ If they caught her with a bunch of humans...

"Here," she reached for a pen in her bag and grabbed Aiden's hand, quickly writing her number on his palm. "Sorry, I've just really got to go. I guess call me and we'll collaborate?"

"Definitely. Thanks!" He called the last bit after her as she walked away, needing to get away from them before the Five saw her. 

Not wanting to be found by the Five, Vivian left the mall, going across the street to a cheesy, pseudo-Italian pizza joint. Standing outside, she tried to get her bearings. The mall wasn't exactly one of her regular haunts, so getting home would be an adventure. 

_ Better than walking back with the Five. _

Vivian pulled out her phone, ready to pull up directions, but stopped. The night was clear, and under the overwhelming stink of marinara and garlic, the air smelled like freedom.

_ If I go home now, I'm just going to wind up in my room, waiting to fall asleep. _

She wouldn't have any company, either. Esme wouldn't be home until after closing time, and Rudy had some kind of poker night set up with his coworkers. He'd be out all night. 

A sliver of worry pricked at her. For the last week, she'd been busy. Too busy to be really alone with her thoughts. The last time she'd been on her own, she'd seen a side of herself she didn't care to see again.

_ Do I trust myself to be alone tonight? _

Vivian paused, feeling the slow creep of her grin. She didn't have to be alone tonight. 

Not hesitating, she dialled. "Hi. Can you come pick me up?"

 

 

* * *

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, the black Harley pulled into the parking lot. Gabriel rode up to where she was standing and silenced the beast. "So, the Five ditched you?"

Vivian eyed the way his muscles moved under his tight tank top. "Other way around, actually."

"Mmm. How long did you last?"

"About an hour."

"You're a brave woman."

Vivian smiled, savoring the admiration in his tone. "So, what are you up to tonight?"

Gabriel met her gaze, hungry, his voice huskier than it had been moments before. "Nothing that couldn't get rescheduled. Why?"

Vivian walked up to him and traced her index finger over his beard stubble. "How would you feel about a night in?"

"A quiet night at home?"

Vivian chuckled, lips nearing his, "I never said anything about 'quiet'."

 


	6. Chapter 6

Lucky: Chapter 6

* * *

 

_ Disclaimer _ _: I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of the book, “Blood and Chocolate,” by Annette Curtis Klause. I do, however, love her characters, and I hope she doesn’t mind me writing a story about them. Also, in order to make the relationships in this story legal, all of the characters have been aged up by three years._

* * *

 

Vivian climbed through her bedroom window as the rosy light of dawn tinged the eastern horizon. The walk home hadn't quite dimmed the afterglow of her night with Gabriel, and there was a goofy smile that wouldn't quite leave her lips. But then she noticed the sound of approaching feet and Esme threw open the door.

"Where the hell have you been?"

 _Not good._ "Out. I went for a run."

Esme's eyes narrowed. "With your backpack?"

 _Oh shit._ Vivian shrugged, "Yeah." Doubling down on a bad lie was better than admitting the truth. _She'd shit bricks if she knew._

"Don't think for a second that I believe you." Vivian struggled to remember a time that she'd seen her mother so angry. "I have been up since 3:00 am, waiting to see if you were dead or alive."

"What?"

"The Five dropped by Tooley's."

 _Oh, right._ They'd been planning on dropping by Tooley's, the local dive bar and greasy spoon where Esme waitressed. "Oh."

"Yes, Viv, 'Oh.' Because, before they got thrown out, they told me about how you'd left them at the mall, and then I called Rudy, who never saw you come home."

"I'm sorry." Vivian mumbled.

"You're sorry?" Esme shook her head, "Christ, Viv. I mean, I know I've been pretty lax on giving you boundaries, but you used to at least check in- No. No, this stops now."

"What stops?"

"This... this free rein I've been giving you. The past year has been hard, and I haven't been enough of a parent to you, but that stops now."

"Wait-"

"No, Viv. I know you're legally an adult, and now that you're done with school, you should have more freedom, but while you're living under my roof, you are going to have some boundaries."

Vivian wanted to point out that it was Rudy's roof, but her self preservation instinct kicked in instead.

"Okay. What boundaries?"

"Well, for starters, if you're going to be out past midnight, you are going to call and let me know where you are."

"Alright."

Esme raised a hand to rub at her eyes, and a sob escaped her.

_Oh god, she's crying._

"I'm sorry. Viv, I'm so sorry. This past year has been like a nightmare, and maybe I'm just now waking up from it. I know I haven't been here for you, not like I should have been, and I- I'm so sorry."

Esme's face crumpled, and Vivian dropped her bag on the floor and embraced her mother.

 _It's not just me._ For so long, Vivian had felt so isolated in her grief, not seeing Esme's suffering. Had she not been able to, or had she just not wanted to?

Esme pulled away first, wiping at her nose. "God, I'm tired," she sighed, "and we've got the graduation party tonight."

"Sleep?"

Esme nodded, "Yes. And you, too. God knows what you were actually up to last night, but I'd bet sleeping wasn't part of it."

_She's not wrong..._

"Alright, If we start prepping at three, everything should be ready by the time people start showing up. And I did say, 'we,' Viv. No running off, no hiding in your room, got it?"

"Got it."

"Alright." Esme pulled Vivian in for a quick, hard hug. "Thanks, precious." Then, releasing her, Esme left Vivian to her own devices.

Ignoring the aches from her earlier exertions, Vivian pulled on some pajamas and crawled into bed, mentally and physically exhausted. She didn't fall asleep the instant her head hit the pillow, but some time during her mental replay of the night, Vivian was out.

 

* * *

 

Some hours later, there was a rapping on Vivian's bedroom door. "Viv? Wake up, honey, it's time to get to work."

Vivian, face-first in her pillow, grunted a reply. Dreamily, she wondered how long she had until she actually had to get out of bed. Then, however, memories of that morning's confrontation resurfaced. _Now is not the time to test her_. Groaning, Vivian pushed herself up off the pillow, twisting to sit on the bed.

The light breeze filtering through the still-open window was the only thing keeping the room from passing for a sauna. Vivian leaned over to turn her bedside fan on and stood. Pulling on a tank top and a pair of shorts, she headed downstairs in search of ice water and the kitchen air conditioner.

She found her mother, wrist deep in raw ground beef, mixing in the secret blend of spices that made Tooley's burgers worth the risk of food poisoning.

"Viv, do me a favor and shell the eggs." Esme nodded to the sink, where a pot of hard-boiled eggs waited. "They should be cool enough now, and then the potato salad will be ready to go."

"Sure." Vivian grabbed a drink, washed her hands and began the tedious but oddly satisfying task of de-shelling the eggs, placing the rubbery, gelatinous ovaloids on the cutting board, where Vivian was next given the job of slicing the eggs into bite sized morsels, which she was then told to fold into the rest of the potato salad.

The afternoon went on like that, Esme giving orders, Vivian obeying. It reminded her of the inn and her father's kitchen. _Maybe that's why I don't mind it./_

Nearing party time, Rudy was out fussing with the grill, Esme was on the porch giving Renata instructions for last second groceries, and Vivian was in the kitchen slicing vegetables. As she reached for the next zucchini and began sawing at it with a serrated knife, someone walked up behind her, placing his hands over hers. Vivian stilled, letting the heat from his body warm her skin while wicked memories warmed her blood.

"You're gonna cut yourself that way." _Gabriel._ His breath disturbed the hair in her ponytail, but his nose and lips disturbed her equilibrium as he leaned in to nuzzle the back of her neck.

Vivian bit her lip to hold back a moan. She chuckled instead, "Thanks for your concern," wishing she could sound less desperate for his touch.

He nipped at the skin over her spine and she gasped. "Anytime."

"You know, you got me in big trouble with Esme last night."

His mouth was moving slowly toward her earlobe. "Oh?"

"Y-yes. She was waiting up for me when I got back."

"Well that's not good."

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Your worry is so admirable."

"So, she laid down the law?"

"Yes." Vivian sighed the word, Gabriel's mouth having reached her earlobe.

"It's about time somebody did. God knows what kind of trouble you'd get into on your own."

Vivian turned to look at him. "As I recall, the trouble I've been getting into takes two."

Gabriel grinned, "Sounds fun."

"Oh, very, but it might be trickier now that I have a curfew."

Gabriel tipped up her chin with a finger. "You say 'tricky', I hear, 'exciting'."

Vivian saw the look in his eyes, knew it all too well, "Watch it, Wolfman. Esme's going to walk in here in about five seconds, and if she catches us, 'tricky' is going to change into 'impossible'."

"Fine." Instead of hauling her up onto the counter and fucking her senseless, he planted a quick, fierce kiss on her lips and then released her. _Dammit._

"If anyone asks, I came in to use the bathroom and grab some beers." Gabe reached into the fridge to pull out his alibi.

Smiling, she gave him her sauciest, "Yes, sir."

He turned, and Vivian could see from the set of his jaw how close he was to throwing caution to the wind. "Later."

Vivian gave him a slow once over and sighed, "Later."

She saw the tic in his cheek just before he growled and walked out to chat with Rudy.

The smug grin on Vivian's face lasted until Esme walked back inside.

"How long has Gabriel been here?"

Vivian feigned interest in the last zucchini, "Five minutes?"

Esme scoffed. "And he didn't come to say hello to me? Rude boy." The last remark was purred, turning Vivian's stomach into roiling boil of nausea. _Oh god._

With all the subtlety of a freight train, Esme marched outside to greet their first guest.

Horrified, Vivian watched her mother flirt. _Great, Mom. Fantastic. That man was inside me last night, but go on, keep hitting on him._

When Esme flipped her hair and playfully touched his shoulder, Vivian thought she would be sick, but she was saved by the sound of the front door opening, admitting the first of the party-hungry Pack. _Thank god._ Vivian threw the rest of the zucchini into the marinade and shoved it in the fridge.

The guests were a welcome distraction. As the house filled up with loup garou, it was easier to ignore Esme and her insistent pursuit of Gabriel. Slipping a hard lemonade from the fridge, Vivian chugged it, fast. _No way am I ready to be romantic rivals with my own mother. No way._

Of course, that was before Astrid arrived. Ulf's mother slinked in through the front door like crimson sex, making a beeline for Gabriel. _Of course. You're at a party celebrating your son's high school graduation, why wouldn't you try to seduce a man ten years your junior?_ Behind her derision, Vivian felt the queasy heat of jealousy. / _Dammit. It's not like he's my boyfriend or anything. I don't care who flirts with him_. But the lies didn't keep her from balling her hands into fists whenever Astrid laid her hands on Gabriel.

At 6:00, Rudy, brought the first batch of burgers, hot dogs and grilled veggies inside. The hungry Pack drew close, and the eldest male, Orlando, acting as master of ceremonies, addressed the crowd.

"Brothers and Sisters, we gather today to celebrate the passage of three young ones into a new phase of life." He continued, pointing to each wolf as he said their name, "Vivian, Gregory, and Ulf have completed their education, a feat that many of us can attest is not easy." Vivian struggled not to glance at Rafe, who'd spent the past Fall trying to get his GED. He had been scheduled to graduate with Willem and Finn last year, but his "too cool for school" attitude had finally gotten him in trouble, to no one's great surprise.

"It is a testament to their resilience that they met this goal despite the hardships of the past year. Indeed, it shows our resilience and strength as a Pack that we have emerged from this year of trials intact." The party atmosphere dimmed, and Vivian watched her Packmates grow solemn.

"So, as we enjoy the food and each others' company, let us celebrate Vivian, Gregory, and Ulf's new phase, and also look forward to a new phase as a stronger, more united Pack."

Orlando raised his glass in a toast, and the Pack followed suit.

Rudy, gesturing with the grilling tongs, broke the resulting silence with, "And on that note, let's eat!"

 

* * *

 

 

Vivian stood in a corner, focusing on her food, trying to take a breather. _You'd think wolves would respect mealtime._ She'd been trying to eat for the past fifteen minutes, yet her burger lay untouched.

She picked it up, about to take a bite, when she saw Raul and Magda, Willem and Finn's parents, heading her way.

 _Goddamn it._ Setting her plate down, Vivian plastered on her socializing face and mentally bid adieu to dinner.

 _It's for the best, really. Orlando's speech was pretty appetite destroying._ What had he been thinking with all that talk about phases and the trials of this year? _It's like he wanted to bring the mood down._

"Hi!" _Please make this quick, I should probably eat sometime tonight._

"Congratulations, Viv!" Magda pulled her in for a quick, tight hug.

 _Oof_. "Thanks!"

Raul patted her on the shoulder, "Your dad would be proud of you, kiddo."

 _If one more person says that to me, I'm going to scream._ Instead, Vivian nodded and said, "Thank you."

"So," Raul began, "looking forward to the Ordeal?"

 _What? No, why would I?_ "Um, well, I haven't really had any time to think about it."

Magda shook her head, "Don't mind him, Viv, He's just excited, like a massive brawl is something to get excited about."

Raul countered, "It is though; I could win."

Vivian maintaned her mask of polite interest, but inwardly recoiled. _Raul, win the Ordeal?_ Winning the fight would name him Leader, alpha male of the pack, the title her father had worn when he'd been alive. _He expects me to be happy someone's taking Dad's place?_

"Honey, I love you, but you're past forty, and your fighting days are behind you."

Raul laughed, "Are you saying an old dog can't fight?"

"I'm saying that there are too many obstacles in your way."

"Like what?"

"Well, Gabriel, for one."

 _Gabriel?_ Vivian turned to look at him, across the room, talking with Bucky and Bucky's fellow hell-raiser, Jean. Gabriel stood tall, at least half a head taller than any other male in the room, with dozens of scars to attest to his fighting skill and...

_Of course he's going to compete in the Ordeal. Fucking duh._

A cold shiver ran through Vivian, and she wrapped her arms around her torso, fighting the urge to run.

"Viv? Are you feeling okay?" Magda broke through Vivian's internal panic.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. A little hungry, maybe."

_I promised Esme that I wouldn't run. I promised her._

"Oh? Oh, good grief, girl, you haven't even touched your plate! Here, you eat, and we'll come back to chat later."

"Thanks." Vivian tried to sound more grateful, less devastated, but was failing miserably.

Magda and Raul stepped away, leaving Vivian to pick up her plate and pick at her now cold food. It didn't matter; she wasn't tasting any of it anyway.

_Of course Gabriel's going to compete._

The rest of the party was a grey static, faces coming in and out of view, forcing brief, unremembered conversations, while Vivian attempted to keep her composure.

At one point, Gabriel caught her gaze from across the room and gave her a lightning-quick grin. Vivian assumed her, "everything is fine" face and returned the greeting with a nod.

Gabriel's grin faded. _Of course. He's the only one who ever saw through my act._

Vivian turned away. She didn't need that conversation, not now. What she needed was the time and space to think her way through the shitstorm she'd just found herself in.

The party came to a halt shortly after midnight, on account of Rudy's morning shift at the Safeway. Wolf-kind, partially intoxicated, stumbled away home, and Vivian stuck to Esme like glue. Gabriel remained, ostensibly to help clean up, but if the scorching stares Vivian felt were any indication, what he really wanted was to talk to her.

Close to one, Vivian excused herself, saying she was going to go sleep. Instead, she waited upstairs until she heard the telltale roar of Gabriel's Harley riding away from the house.

Quietly, Vivian crawled out of her window onto the roof and dropped down to the lawn. Out back, she headed for the tall grasses of the woods that bordered their lot. Following the narrow clearing, Vivian reached a clutch of rocks near the river and climbed atop the tallest.

Up there, crowned by stars, Vivian finally let herself consider the mountain of questions she'd been avoiding all night.

 _What happens if he wins?_ Vivian immediately leapt to the most likely conclusion. Even a cursory overview of her male packmates revealed an obvious favorite. Gabriel was massive, even in wolf form, and on hunts his speed and ferocity were unmatched. _Maybe if an outsider came... maybe._ But far greater was the chance of him winning.

 _If he wins, he'll have to mate the winner of the Bitches Dance_. The Dance, a fight between all willing females, would determine the strongest consort for the newly crowned alpha male. The winner would be Queen Bitch, and the only one allowed to Mate the alpha.

_I'm not ready for that. Way not ready._

Vivian grimaced. _Then what? Sit back while Gabriel gets a wife? Live the next 60-odd years of my life under the rule of someone I used to fuck?_

_What if he dies?_

A dagger of fear stabbed through Vivian's chest. _No. No, that's not going to happen._ But the fear remained, because the reality was that he could.

Vivian hugged her knees to her chest, trying to contain her worries, when she noticed a distant rustle that was growing closer.

Quieting, she discerned the sound of many bodies moving rapidly in unison, running through the tall grass of the riverbed, dozens of feet thundering against the soil. The wind shifted, bringing their scent to Vivian's nose. Wolf-kind.

 _Holy shit, what the hell are they thinking?_ A run this large was bound to get noticed by humans. _Bloody Moon, did we learn nothing from West Virginia?_

The leaders seemed to be following the riverbank, leading them toward Vivian. She crouched low, catching sight of them as they bounded out from the trees and into the moonlight. With the scents and the visual, Vivian began to piece together identities.

The leader, a foxy red female, could only be Astrid, and of the two males who followed close behind her, one Vivian instantly recognized as Rafe, and the other, by the reek of booze, could only have been Lucien, Rafe's father. They led a party of males, mostly Esme's age-mates, with the rest of the Five along for the fun.

Vivian watched, silent, as they raced along the river, heading toward the city.

_Oh, shit._

 


	7. Chapter 7

Vivian sat up on the rock, stunned.

  _Oh, god, what do I do?_

_Tell Gabriel.  He’ll know what to do._

She bristled at the thought.  _No, I can’t talk to him right now, not now._   She swallowed.  _Rudy.  I’ve got to tell Rudy._  

She jumped down from the rock to the long riverbank grasses, not wasting time before she started to run back to the house.  Every second she spent was one more second that Astrid was risking all of their lives.  _What was she thinking?_   She was going to get all of them killed.  Vivian thought of the fire, of the hot flash of embers exploding out of the Den as it collapsed, her father trapped inside.  _Not again.  Never again._   She scrambled up the drain pipe and over the shingles to crawl through her open bedroom window.  Racing to the door, she flung it open and sprinted down the hall.  Last door on the right, Rudy’s room, was dark, as Rudy’d probably gone straight to sleep, but this was an emergency, and he’d get over being woken up.

Vivian knocked on his door before deciding she couldn’t spare the time.  As she opened it, Rudy was grumbling, fishing around for the bedside lamp switch.  Vivian flipped the overhead lights on, and he flinched against the brightness.

“Viv?  What the hell?”

“It’s Astrid.  She’s leading a run along the river, and they’re heading for the city!”

Rudy blinked twice, then paled as her meaning hit.  “Oh, god.  Oh, god!  How far are they?”

“They just passed through the park.”

“Then there’s time to catch them.”  Rudy rose, grabbing his phone.  “Grab your license, you’re driving.”

“What?”

“I’m very drunk, and the last thing we need right now is a DUI.  Go, I’ll call Gabriel.”

_Oh, dammit-_   Vivian’s annoyance flared, but she obeyed.  Now was really not the time.

Rudy stumbled down the stairs, half asleep, half drunk, and Vivian followed, wallet in hand.  Esme poked her head out the room down the hall.

“What’s going on?”

Vivian waved a hand as she rounded the upstairs bannister, “I’ll tell you later.”  Racing down the stairs, she plucked the truck keys out of Rudy’s hands, and they ran outside to the driveway.

“Come on, pick up.” Rudy muttered as he stepped into the passenger’s side.  Vivian, climbing into the driver’s seat, strained to hear the other side of the call. 

“Gabe?  We need your help.  Astrid’s leading a run along the river.  We need to stop them before they get to the city.”  Gabriel said something, but Vivian couldn’t hear it over the roar of the engine starting. 

“Yeah.  Yeah, Viv says they ran through the park behind the house about five minutes ago.  If they stay along the riverbank, we should be able to outrun them and catch them downstream.” 

There was another pause while Gabriel spoke, but Vivian was pulling out onto the street, and didn’t catch it.

“That should work.  Yeah, we’ll meet you there.  We’re in the truck.  Okay, okay, yeah, call if anything happens.”  Rudy hung up and turned to Vivian, “Okay, you’re going to get on and follow highway two-sixty-three.  There’s another park about ten miles down, and we should be able to intercept them there.”

Rudy didn’t even finish his directions before Vivian hauled ass in the direction of the highway.  It was familiar enough, one that went by Rudy’s Safeway, and she knew the way like the back of her hand. 

All the way there, visions of the inn flashed in her mind, accompanied by moments of unrelenting rage and panic.  _How could they be so foolish?  Had they so quickly forgotten?_   She’d thought that the fire had devastated all of them, but apparently she’d been wrong.

Lost in her thoughts, she was startled by the scream of a passing motorcycle.

“That’s Gabriel.  Try to stay on his tail; he’ll need backup.”

Easier said than done.  Gabriel was pushing ninety while the truck struggled with sixty.  Grimacing, Vivian pushed her weight onto the accelerator and sped into the night.

 

 

Vivian stepped out of the truck’s cab to the opening snarls of the fight.

Gabriel, already changed, waited ringed by wolf-kind.  A male, Lucien Dafoe by the odor, faced him, muzzle twisted.  The others milled, and Vivian caught several glances that clearly said, “Shit.  Do you just want to leave?”

On the whole, maybe three people were still excited to be present.  Lucien might have been putting on a show for Gabriel, but Rafe definitely wasn’t.  That dipshit looked ready to take on a whole host of elders.  Astrid stood at the front ring, vulpine face radiating self-satisfaction.

Vivian felt it, the itch.  That unspoken urge that led to the change.  With a growl ready in her throat, Vivian wanted to leap into the fray and claw that look off of her face.

_That smug, stupid bitch._

“You okay?” Rudy slammed the truck’s door, snapping her back to the moment.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Following Rudy’s lead, Vivian walked up to the crowd, biting back her anger.

At the outer edge of the crowd, Rudy raised his hands over his head.  “Brothers!”

Heads turned in his direction, save one.  Lucien didn’t dare tear his attention from Gabriel.

“What are you doing?”  Rudy’s voice carried through the silent park.  “Did you learn so little from the fire?  Your home burned, your friends died, and for what?  For foolishness like this!”

Vivian watched a squirming uneasiness roil through the crowd.

“What are you doing?” Rudy continued.  “Why are you here?  Is the thrill of sin so great?  Is it worth your children’s lives?”  Rudy turned to skewer Bucky and Jean with his gaze.  Tail lowered, Jean began backing out of the circle. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!  Every second that you stand here, you risk all of us!  WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!”  Rudy was shouting now, cords standing out in his neck. “Go home!  Go to your families, and praise the Moon that you still have them!”

Bucky broke rank with Jean, and both turned tail headed upstream for home.  Rudy’s gaze followed them, blazing fire.

Slowly, the crowd dispersed in small clumps.  Rafe and Astrid eyed the deserters with scorn.

Lucien, however, never took his eyes off of Gabriel.  By the sway in his stance, Vivian knew he was drunk.

Gabriel growled, the sound rippling across his inky coat.

Lucien didn’t back down.  He lowered his head, raising his lips and his hackles in a full-body snarl.

Vivian almost didn’t see it.  Looking over at Rudy, she almost missed it.

Gabriel lunged, his powerful haunches propelling him into Lucien’s chest.

There was a snap of jaws against flesh, and they both fell backward into the grass.  Spume flew up from the fray, catching Astrid on the side of her face.  She whined and backed up from the rolling combatants.

Lucien shook loose from Gabriel’s grip and tried to run away.  Gabriel lunged again, this time catching Lucien in the meat of his thigh. 

Lucien yelped, and the smell of blood filled the air.  Gabriel’s snarls shook the ground as he ripped into Lucien’s flesh.

The yelps turned into desperate whines.  Gabriel relaxed his grip, blood dribbling from his muzzle.  Slowly, deliberately, he walked forward, looming over Lucien.

Lucien stared up at Gabriel, a desperate, keening whine welling from his ravaged chest.

Gabriel stared down, unmerciful as a god.  His growl demanded one thing.

Whimpering, in pain, Lucien twisted to expose his belly.

Gabriel snarled, exposing all of his teeth.

Lucien whimpered as he cringed away. 

Satisfied, Gabriel stepped off of Lucien.  Glaring at the Five, he didn’t release his stare until all, even Rafe, exposed their necks to him.

Astrid stood rocks still, unmoving as the stars.  Turning his attention, Gabriel wrinkled his muzzle, streaking his teeth red.

The fur running down her spine raised, but she wasn’t moved.

Without warning, he lunged.

Astrid jumped a foot in the air, spraying urine as she tried to escape his jaws.

Gabriel hit ground where he’d stood before.  The lunge had been a test.  Astrid had failed.

The air stank with defeat as Astrid slunk into the shadows.

Taking one last look at the stragglers, the Five and Lucien, Gabriel turned back to his bike and his clothes.  His eyes, savage, untamed, caught Vivian’s, and she felt a stab of heat in her loins.

Red-faced, she turned away to follow Rudy.

“C’mon man, let’s get you out of here.”  Lucien hobbled, breath weak, to the bed of Rudy’s truck.

Rudy’d lowered the hitch when Rafe’s muzzle bumped him in the thigh.

Looking down, Rudy’s voice softened.  “We’ll take him to Persia’s.  She’ll get him fixed up.”

Sullen but accepting, Rafe backed away, leading the Five into the shadows.

Gabriel’s Harley roared to life, and Vivian started despite herself.  Raising a hand, Rudy waved him off.  As the engine’s rumble faded, he turned to Vivian.

“You know the way?”

Vivian nodded and fished the keys out of her pocket. 

 

 

 

Dawn painted the eastern sky as Vivian waited outside of Persia’s.  The ancient and venerated healer of their pack shared a rented ranch style house with Sybil, her protégé and likely successor. 

Out on the driveway, Vivian leaned against the cab of the truck, arms folded, toes tapping.  Rudy had been in there an interminably long time, and Vivian’s adrenaline had worn off, leaving her pining for bed. 

_It’s not like he’s dying._   Stitch him up, send him home and let him sleep it off.  _Bastard deserves far worse._

She was about to step inside for a progress check when a black and silver motorcycle rumbled up the driveway.

_God dammit._   Vivian grimaced, but leaned back against the truck.  _I will not run away.  I’m better than that, dammit_.

Her resolve weakened as he dismounted and caught her with a stare that made her legs go rubbery.

Hanging his helmet from the handlebars, Gabriel strolled over.

“What’s going on?”

Vivian pretended to be interested in her fingernails. “They’re giving him stitches.  I think they’ll be done soon.”

“That’s great, but I wasn’t talking about Lucien, Viv.”

Gabriel skewered her with those damned blue eyes of his.  Vivian felt a host of contradictory urges; to hit him, to kiss him, to bury her face in his chest and cry.  She resisted them all and managed to look away.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on with you, or do I have to guess?”

Annoyed, Vivian snapped. “No, to both.”

“Viv-“

“Look, I – more than anything else, I’m pissed at myself for being so incredibly stupid.”

“About what?’

Vivian couldn’t look him in the eye, so she settled for looking at his neck.  “Are you going to fight in the Ordeal?”

“Yes.”  If he knew he was on dangerous ground, he didn’t show it.

“Yeah.  And that was obvious to everyone except me.  God, I’m a fucking moron.”

“I’m getting that this is a problem for you.”

“No shit.”  Vivian walked off toward Persia’s front door.

Gabriel called after her. “Do you want to talk about it, or would you rather storm off?”

Flipping the bird, she stepped inside.

As the door slammed behind her, Gabriel raked a hand through his hair.

“Shit.”


End file.
